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ΤΗΕ EUROPEAN ΡΕΡΤΙΟΕ SOCIETY NEWSLETTER Issue Number 13, 1 April 1996 THEODOR WIELAND (1913 - 1995) Ιn Memoriam It is with deepest sorrow that Ι pick υρ my pen to write ίη tribute to my great friend, and academic father for most of my life, the Iate Theodor Wieland. Theodor passed away οη 24 November 1995. He seemed to be recovering well from an operation, when he relapsed and had to surrender after a short fight for survival. Το his family members, closest friends, and also his many colleagues, this cruel turn of fate was both unexpected and distressing. Only weeks before, the members of the Max-Bergmann-Kreis had met with Theodor ίη the Dolomites for an intimate scientίfic conference. ΑΙΙ had admired his physical strength, sparkling spirit and warm humour, so famous worldwide among the peptide science community. Now, this dear fellow chemist has left us forever. Το me he was a great man of science who had - so rare these days - not only comprehensive intellectual grandeur but also realistic and sound judgement ίη practical matters. Α most gifted and creative natural philosopher, a learned scholar, a man of culture, and a humanitarian with unlimited patience and personal modesty has passed away. His open nature and inability of creating enemies was an obvious aspect of his character; more subtle was his puckish sense of humour, which was frequently exercised among family members and close friends. Name another man of his stature! Professor Dr.phil.nat. , Dr.h.c. Hermann Theodor Felix Wieland was born 5 June 1913 in Munich, son of Nobel Laureate Heinrich Wieland. He passed his Habilitation in Heidelberg in 1942 with a thesis οη "The Biosynthesis of Pantothenic Acid". He was at this time assistant to Richard Kuhn at the former Kaiser­ Wilhelm-Institute for Medical Research. Both his father and Richard Kuhn were disciples of the great Richard Willstatter, who was Adolf νοη Baeyer's successor in the chair of Organic Chemistry at Munich. These paternal influences determined his outlook, which he defined * as follows : " Ι have always thought of myself not only as a biochemist, but an organic chemist who sees chemistry as connected with living nature, according to Berzelius' definition of 'chemistry of the products of organisms'." After an Extraordinariat in Chemistry at the University of Mainz in 1947, he accepted the chair of the Institute for Organic Chemistry at the University of Frankfurt in 1951. There, it was my good fortune to join his private laboratory staff in 1955. When in 1968 he was appointed Director of the Department of Chemistry -later renamed "Department of Natural Products Chemistry" - at the Max-Planck-Institute for Medical Research, his academic career had turned full circle, bringing him back to Heidelberg. He retired from his Directorship there in 1981. His contributions to science appeared in well over 500 papers in scientific journals, handbooks and conference proceedings. He co-authored several books, and wrote a monograph οη the "Peptides of Poisonous Amanita Mushrooms", Springer (1986), which illustrates his core interests in natural sciences well. Αη exhaustive evaluation of his complete oeuvre must be left for later. Theodor Wieland was a great natural scientist; one of the founders of modern peptide chemistry, his immortality in the international community of science is assured. Christian Βίπ Heidelberg *The quotation is the introductory sentence of his autobiography "Memories of Heidelberg - and of Other Places": Chapter 2 (ρρ21-108) of Comprehensive Biochemistry, 38 (1995). ΤΗΕ JOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE Απ official publication of the European Peptide Society This is to remind Members that the Journal ΟΙ Peptide Science is now into its second year of publication. Since the distribution of the Journal is still not as wide as desirable and expected, it is appropriate to reprint the Editorial which was published οη the occasion of the first anniversary, in the January/February issue of Volume Two. The Society welcomes all new subscribers, and in particular asks Members to recommend subscription to their respective institutions. The personal subscription rate remains at $65 per year. Editorial FIRST ANNNERSARY This issue marks the first anniversary of the Journal ΟΙ Peptide Science. Ιη retrospect we have had a good beginning with a remarkable record of continuing success. We were able to publish a broad range of manuscripts covering many aspects of peptide science, thus demonstrating the true characteristics of our field , namely interdisciplinarity. The success was in part due to the launch issue published ahead in September 1994 and distributed during the 23rd European Peptide Symposium. This allowed us to invite a large number of authors to submit papers at an early stage and thus gain some stock of manuscripts from which to select contributions of considerable standard. Although the influx of manuscripts has been satisfactory throughout the last year it was uneven at times, and Ι hope that more colleagues will consider our Journal as a forum for their important contributions. Ιη other words, Ι ask our members and all colleagues from abroad to have sufficient confidence in the future of the Joumal which, Ι should like to emphasize, is an official publication of the European Peptide Society. ΑΙΙ editors and advisors as well as the staff of our publisher will continue to do their best to maintain a high standard and thus honour the confίdence of all future authors. Ιη this year the format of the Journal will remain essentially the same. We have slightly increased the number of pages and will continue to publish six bi-monthly issues. This may create a problem sometimes, when an important contribution requiring rapid publication cannot be published as soon as desirable. We shall however give such publications preferable treatment ίη terms of time, and authors who feel that their paper should be published rapidly may request this ίη their covering letter. Of course it remains an editorial decision whether the request will be honoured. This issue is dedicated to the Emeritus Chairman of the European Peptide Society, Dr. Geoffrey Τ. Young, who has recently celebrated his 80th birthday. Ι should like to quote our present chairman Dietrich Brandenburg, who has written ίη the last issue of the Society's Newsletter inter alia: "From the earliest days of the European Peptide Society he [G.T. Young] has been a pillar of wisdom and strength. It is a great pleasure to offer Geoffrey sincere greetings and best wishes οη behalf of the whole Society". Ι may add that Dr. Young with his wisdom also played an important role during the phases of necessary legal work. ΑΙΙ editors are indebted to Geoffrey Υ oung and congratulate him and wish him many good and healthy days ίη the future. Conrad Η. Schneider Editor-in-Chie! Contact details: Other inquiries may be addressed to: Journals Subscription Department Prof. C.H. Schneider, Editorial Office, John Wiley & Sons Ltd ΡΟ Βοχ 10, Inselspital, Baffins Lane, Chichester, 3010 Bern, Switzerland Sussex ΡΟ 19 1 υD υκ Fax ++41 31 381 5735 SPONSORS The Society is warmly grateful to its subscribing sponsors, who were as listed below ίη 1995. Advanced Chemtech Fluka Chemie Orpegen Asta Pharma Glaxo Research and Peboc Development Bachem Feinchemikalien Peptisyntha υκ F. Hoffmann-La Roche Bachem pfίzer Institut de Recherches Servier Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmacia Italfarmaco Calbiochem-Novabiochem υκ Propeptide Lepetit Research Centre Cambridge Research Rapp Polymere Biochemicals (Merrel Dow) Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Commisariat a l'Energie Mayflower Sandoz Pharma Atomique, France Α. Menarini Schering Chromogenix Ε . Merck Senn Chemicals Ciba-Geigy PerSeptive Biosystems υκ UCB-Bioproducts Debiopharm Macmillan The Wellcome Foundation Diosynth Neosystems Zeneca Pharmaceuticals ESCOM Norsk Hydro Ferring Peptide Production Νονο Nordisk Fisons (Biotech MS) Nycomed Bioreg EXCHANGE GRANTS Regretfully we have to inform Members that Debiopharm are unable to continue their sponsorship of the Debiopharm Exchange Grants. For this year we therefore are unable to consider Exchange Grant applications until the Executive Committee of the Society has been able to fully discuss the matter and other means of sponsorship. John S Davies Secretary NEWS FROM BULGARIA Professor 00 Petkov (Lab . Biocatalysis, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences, BG-1113 Sofia, Bulgaria) has been elected to be the National Representative of Bulgaria οη the Council of the Society. Professor Petkov reports that a Bulgarian Peptide Society is ίη the process of being organised. The 1st Bulgarian Peptide Symposium is to be held 17-19 May 1996, at Panichishte, about a hundred kilometres from Sofia. Peptide people from other countries will be welcome. BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE PEPTIDES ιν This conference took place 12-14 April 1995, ίη Prague, at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The fourth meeting ίη the series, it was made possible by the efforts of the Biologically Active Peptides Section, an integral part of the Czech Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The Section was established ίη 1988 by researchers of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, mainly from the Department of Peptide Biochemistry. The series was originally intended to be national, but it became international after the Czech Republic and Slovakia separated ίη 1993. This year our Slovak friends from Bratislava, Ivanka pri Dunaji and Kosice were joined by participants from Bulgaria, namely Professor Ο Petkov from the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Professor Τ Vezenkov from the University of Tom Barth Chemical Technology ίη Sofia. The conference was sponsored by the Czech Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and also by the Pharmaceutical Section of the Biotechnological Society. The organisers were also supported by the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry and Ferring-Le ~ iνa (Prague). Although not covering all the peptide-related work going οη ίη the Republic, it illustrated increased Czech activity ίη peptide science rather well.

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